Falling For You - An Everlark Fanfiction
by Rad1antasthesun
Summary: Katniss has never found love before, let alone had the time, but when a handsome blonde haired blue eyed man named Peeta moves in next door, she can't help but to find herself falling for Modern Day AU
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Just a short Authors note here...**

**This is my first every fanfiction, and I'm really excited to get started with this story!**

**This chapter is going to be a short one, but I promise you they WILL get longer!**

**Enjoy!**

**Chapter 1**

Katniss had just gotten off her shift at Abernathy's, a Dive-Bar down the street in the small town of Panem. She was exhausted after working all day, nearly dropping four beer glasses in the first few hours. She was never able to stay focused at work, she had too much on her mind, and never got a good amount of sleep. Since her parents passed away in a car crash three years ago, she'd wake up in the middle of the night with horrific nightmares about her parents getting hit by that drunk driver. Every night the image of them getting crashed into by an out of control driver haunted her, and she hadn't been able to get a full amount of sleep since then.

It had happened on New Years when her parents had gone out to a party, and her and Prim had stayed home that night since Katniss was never one for parties or social gatherings, she could never find the right thing to say to anyone, and often mumbled and stuttered when she talked to people, her parents and sister were not socially awkward at all, but she had turned out different from them and just avoided talking to those she didn't know well. She was somewhat glad she hadn't gone, otherwise her and Prim wouldn't be here today. She missed her parents terribly, and fell into depression afterwards, but she realized grieving for too long wouldn't do her any good.

She had been alone for the past two years, no one to comfort her, her sister was in college far away from her, and the only person she could confide in was Gale or Haymitch. Gale had been her long time best friend since both their fathers worked together, and Hazelle and her mother had been best friends ever since they were in grade seven, and ever since their families had been close.

Haymitch had been a close family friend as well, he was her and Prim's babysitter for a long time when her parents would go out, although she couldn't see why they'd choose him as a babysitter for her and Prim, he was not responsible at all, and was pretty carefree to say the least. Haymitch had helped her and Prim out as much as he could when her parents passed away, her and Prim lived with him awhile before she found her own apartment and was hired at "Abernathy's" Haymitch's bar, she didn't get payed much but it helped. Her life had never been easy, but she managed to make it through.

Katniss trudged up the four flights of steep stairs leading to her single bedroom apartment. After a hard days work and barely any sleep the night before, walking up all four flights of stairs was definitely _not_ what she needed. She was exhausted and stressed after a day like today, she had dropped four glasses at work while receiving rude looks from the customers. She knew she was clumsy, and she couldn't help it and somehow she was still working there after the amount of glasses she'd broken while working there for two years. She knew Haymitch would never fire her though, he knew how much she was in need and she was like family to him.

After making her way up all four flights of stairs and entering her apartment, she was finally relaxed. Away from work, away from stress, she was home and finally felt at peace. Work had always been stressful, no matter what kind of day it was for her, so she was always glad when her shift was over and got to go home.

Peering out from under the sofa, the mangy orange cat, buttercup, crept out making his way to the kitchen towards Katniss, begging to be fed.

"Ulgh!" She huffed heading towards the pantry, pulling out a bag of cat food and pouring it into his food dish. Buttercup hurried over to the food dish, eating everything in the bowl within a matter of seconds. Katniss had never liked Buttercup, and Buttercup never liked Katniss either but when Prim went away to University she was unable to bring Buttercup and Katniss had to take him in, to make Prim happy.

"Someone's hungry." Katniss chuckled, watching the cat devour everything in the bowl.

Soon after, she had found something to watch on TV, grabbed a bite to eat and drifted off to sleep on her couch that night, too tired to make it to her own bedroom. It was four thirty in the morning when she had woken from yet another nightmare, thrashing around on the couch. This time Prim was in the car with her parents, the drunk driver speeding down a narrow dark road and crashing into them as Katniss was watched the whole thing as it happened right before her eyes, speechless. If Prim had been taken away from her too, she didn't know what she'd have done. Prim was the most important person in her life now, and she vowed she'd never let anyone or anything hurt her. Katniss took on the role of being Prim's guardian from then on.

"Oh my God" she panted, sitting up on the couch, her breaths coming out ragged and heavy. She then realized she was in the safety of her own home. She felt sick. The thought of her sister being in the car with them at that time was a thought she couldn't bare. She would have no family left had that happened. A headache was soon brought on afterwards, she slowly paddedi nto the small bathroom, popping open a bottle of Advil, taking the two orange pills and swallowing it with a glass of water. Her nightmares were no help to the anxiety and depression she already had to deal with.

Looking up in the mirror, she saw her pale, drained face, and two large bags hanging down from under her eyes. She quickly turned on the tap, splashing cold water up onto her face, hoping to wake up a little. She hated the way she looked, others had told her she was beautiful, and strong, but she didn't see it at all. She had never thought of herself as attractive, she had never dated, because she thought it was stupid and a waste of time, so she had just never tried to impress anyone but herself.

Her two grey eyes only saw an overly skinny girl, with no curves, or attractive features, and a mess of chocolate-brown hair hanging down past her shoulders. She began getting ready for the day, figuring she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep anyway without the fear of having another nightmare again.

After putting her hair up into a tight ponytail, she slipped on a pair of tight black shorts, a sports bra and a light green tank top, she was ready to go for a run, which she did often to keep sane. It was 9:00, the perfect time to go across the street to the large park to run through.  
She quickly ran down the stairs after tying up a pair of her old running shoes, and hurried to get outside of her drab apartment when "Oof!"

"Sorry!" she exclaimed "Oh my god, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine" the blond-haired, blue-eyed man chuckled "It wasn't your fault"

"Of course it was! I just plowed into you!" she blurted "I'm really sorry, let me help you pick that up." Crouching down, she picked up what looked like some picture frames and small knickknacks that had fallen out of the box he'd been trying to carry up the stairs before she had bumped into him.

"Hey wait, I've never seen you around her before," she remarked, pulling her hair away from her face and glancing up towards him "Are you just moving in...or?"

"Well, yeah actually," he pronounced, scratching the back of his neck. She noticed his strong muscular jaw as he said this, suddenly feeling attracted to him. He was very handsome, he had broad shoulders, wavy blond hair, a boyish grin, and the most beautiful blue eyes she'd ever seen in her life. She found herself staring at him as he finished speaking, not paying attention to what he was saying when she finally snapped out of it and realized he'd been talking the whole time she'd been staring at him.

"W-What?" she uttered, feeling embarrassed from staring for so long and not listening, he hoped he hadn't noticed, though he probably had. She always found some way to embarrass herself in front of others.

"Oh um, I said I'm just moving in this morning, I'm just moving some of the smaller stuff in right now, and the movers are working on bringing my furniture in" he smiled looking down at the worn green carpet, and then back up at her again. "I'm on the fourth floor, I'm not sure how they're gonna make it up all those stairs." He chuckled, picking up the brown cardboard box from the floor with his strong toned arms.

"4th floor? Really? That's where my apartment is!" she said a little too excitedly. Regretting how her words came out. _Stupid._ She thought. She hated the way she was sounding. She was just embarrassing herself, like she always did when she talked to guys.

"Really? Wow, uh, maybe you could show me around later?" he asked, a blush creeping onto his face. "I mean well, I'm not really familiar with this place, I just moved here. I hope it doesn't seem weird." He added.

"Yeah, uh, sure...my room number is 412, you can stop by later if you want. I was just headed out on a jog, so after you finish moving in feel free to stop by." She offered with a weak smile, already regretting the words coming out of her mouth. She knew that she was just going to embarrass herself more in front of him. _He's probably dating someone Katniss, someone as handsome as he is, is surely not single _She thought to herself.

"Sounds good. 412 eh? Um well, my names Peeta by the way." He said stretching out his arm, offering a friendly handshake.

"Katniss." She reached out and shook his hand. He finally let go and she wished he hadn't, his touch still lingered there, giving her goosebumps, a blush creeping onto her face. _Stop getting your panties in a twist over this guy Katniss, you don't have the time to date. _She thought to herself. It was true, she didn't have the time to date, and I'm sure he wasn't interested anyway, there was no way she'd be able to score a guy like him.

"Well, Nice to meet you Katniss." He winked at her causing her heart to stop for a split second. She had never been so interested in a guy before, though most guys never talked to her, besides Gale of course, but other than that, nobody. This feeling building up inside of her was all new, most guys never had payed attention to her, she wasn't the most flattering person anyway. She was a nobody, she had always been to focused on work and school to pay attention to guys anyway. She had tried dating in High School, but that hadn't worked out so well.

"Same to you. Well, I better start on my jog, its 9:30 already. I'll talk to you later Peeta!" She smiled and waved as she made her way out the front door. He offered a wave back along with the smile that she loved already. His teeth were perfectly white, and perfectly straight making her heart flutter. She had never seen guys as handsome or as friendly as him. He seemed like a dream like character, or prince charming. She couldn't wait until he would stop by later, she had a good feeling about Peeta already.

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading! This is the first fanfic I've EVER written, and I know I'm not the greatest writer yet, but I'm getting there! Please leave reviews, it would mean so much to me. No hate please, constructive criticism would help! And if you have any suggestions leave those as well :)**

**Feel free to check out my tumblr and follow me there at .com you can ask me anything and leave reviews there as well!**

**xoxo**

**Alexis.**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Katniss)**

Katniss jogged through the quiet park, only hearing the sound of her old running shoes hitting the sidewalk below her. She tried to clear her mind of what had happened that morning, but she couldn't seem to get Peeta off of her mind. She loved the way his wavy blonde curls brushed over his forehead, how his beautiful blue eyes looked into her silvery-grey ones, and his jaw, his jaw was a whole different story. It was strong and masculine, making him look even more handsome. She could not get the blonde-haired blue eyed boy out of her head no matter how hard she tried.

She quickened her pace as she headed back through the park, eager to get back home to see Peeta again. He was just looking for someone to show him around, like he said, but she hoped that it was more than that. She had already taken a liking to him from the moment she bumped into him that morning. He was kind, and sweet and was not at the least bit annoyed with her bumping into him and knocking everything out of his hands, so she thought. He didn't seem like the person to become angry or annoyed easily, he had a kind manner about him that drew her towards him.

Once reaching the glass doors of her appartment, she noticed the movers hauling a table out the back of their truck, one man on each end of the table carefully moving the wooden table inside the doors of the apartment complex and then making their way up the stairs. She remembered how Peeta had said he'd come over after he was done moving in, so she had a bit of time to remove the sweaty clothes from herself and shower a bit before seeing him again, she wanted to at least look decent.

What if he didn't like her? What if he already had a girlfriend? Or better yet a wife? _Katniss stop being stupid. He just asked you to show him around, he didn't ask you on a date. _She needed to stop thinking of him that way, they would probably end up meeting up once this time and just stick to being aquaintances. She wasn't looking to date anyway, how could she? She had no experience what so ever, and she didn't have the time. She wasn't romantic at all, and didn't want to have to worry about trying to impress someone. All she cared about was being able to provide for herself and Prim and she was just scooting by, but with Peeta's good looks and friendly personality she thought about it, though it was never going to happen in her mind, but it would be nice to have someone as handsome as him around her arm.

She stepped out of the white tiled shower, and began combing through her long brown hair until it was smooth. Sometimes having her long thick hair was a pain, hard to comb, it got tangled easily and looked more like a mess most of the time. She slipped on a pair of faded jeans, and tightening the belt around her small waist, then slipping on a burgundy colored V-neck sweater. After her hair was dry she braided her long hair and fastened it with a black rubber elastic. She looked decent, there was nothing special in her wardrobe, she didn't care what she wore because she had no one to impress, but she at least tried to look decent for Peeta.

She was startled by rapping on the door. She quickly shot up from the couch, pulling the stray hairs in front of her face behind her ears. She was nervous, though she didn't know why, all he asked was that she show him around. Quickly, she unlocked and opened the wood door, seeing the familiar smile of Peeta standing in the hallway in front of her.

"Oh, hey Peeta." She greeted him, trying to keep herself from getting too excited. He looked tired, which he probably was from moving things all day. It was 3:00 now, and he'd been there since 9:00 that morning.

"Hey Katniss, uh, is this a good time for you?" He asked her, offering a small smile that made her heart pound faster in her chest.

"Yeah, no, it's perfect actually." She retorted, offering a weak smile back.

"Great, well uh, do you wanna show me around?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well that's what you asked me to do, isn't it?" She countered, moving into the hallway closing the door behind her, they began walking down the 4th floor hallway. She figured he already knew how to get around on this floor, he'd probably been up and down the stairs at least 100 times today.

"Well yeah," he chuckled "I just wasn't sure if you were still up to it." he told her as they walked down the narrow hallway.

"No, of course I am, I had nothing else to do all day." She sighed, she'd probably be on her couch right now, watching some stupid reality TV show with a bag of chips in hand, spending time with the handsome Peeta was definetly better than that.

"Ah, alright, well thanks for doing this." He flashed a quick smile revealing his perfectly white teeth making her heart skip a beat.

"It's no bother at all, it's nice to meet your new neighbors 'ya know?" She replied, turning down towards the first staircase of many.

"Jeez, I wish they had an elevator here." She said with a laugh "It's hard walking up all of these stairs sometimes." She certainly kept in shape because of them though, but it was a pain when having to bring groceries home and carry them up all 4 flights.

"Yeah, for sure," He answered back with a chuckle "I didn't think the movers were gonna make it" he laughed.

"Must've been tough." She agreed. It would have been hard to carry heavy furniture up 4 steep flights of stairs. She couldn't imagine being able to do it. They'd finally reached the lobby, and she began showing him around to make him familiar with the place. She'd lived there for three years, and knew the area well.

"Here's the mailboxes, over there is the workout room, down there is the laundry room and that's about it for the lobby." She stated awkwardly. She lead him outside to the street. "Underground parking is just over there." She told him, pointing to the driveway going underground around the corner of the building. "Thanks, I'll remember that." he beamed.

"So have you just moved here?" She asked him, meeting his gaze. He didn't seem like he knew the area well, and she was sure he had to be new to the small town of Panem, otherwise he wouldn't be asking for her to show him around.

"Well, actually...no." He murmured, staring down at the pavement. Katniss raised her eyebrow as he told her this.

"Really? Well then why would you ask for me to show you around if you live here?" She questioned, still astonished by what he'd said. Why would she be taking the time out of her day to show him around Panem if he'd lived here?

"Well, when you bumped into me this morning, I don't know..." he trailed of, his hand running through his mess of blonde hair. "I just wanted to get to know you I guess, you seem...different." He added, looking up at her finally.

"Different?" She raised her eyebrow "What do you mean _different?"_ She snapped back at him, his eyes went wide and a look of embarrassment flooded his face.

"No, no, no, not...ugh." He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down, his eyes squinted, obviously regretting what he'd just said. "Not a _bad _different, a good different." he added, smiling at her in hopes to make the awkward situation better.

"What?" She didn't know whether to thank him or what to say. Things had suddenly gotten awkward between them. She felt bad for making him feel like he'd said the wrong thing when he was only trying to tell her why he'd asked her to show him around when he had lived in Panem.

"Listen, Katniss, I didn't mean it the way you thought, I don't think you're weird or anything, I actually really like being around you. I thought it was a good opportunity to get to know you I guess." He said sympathetically

"Oh." She uttered, she didn't know what else to say. Was he interested in her? No. He couldn't be. There was no possible way that _he _would be interested in _her. _Even if there was the possibility that he was, she refused to believe it.

"Katniss, I'm sorry for taking up your time." He told her. "It's just, I wanted an excuse to get to know you, and I guess I wasn't being very smart by saying I needed to be shown around...but it was all I could think of at the time, and well it is what it is now, but if it meant I got to see you again than I don't really care." Katniss was completely and utterly _dumbfounded_. She couldn't believe it! He wanted to get to know _her_? He wanted to spend time with _her_? No, it didn't make sense at all.

"Katniss, please say something, I know it seems weird and I probably seem like the biggest creep right now, but please say something." He begged. She felt bad, she didn't think he was weird, or a creep, she was just shocked that a guy like him had told her that he wanted to get to know her, this rarely ever happened. "Sorry," She muttered, looking back up at him again after her what he was saying registered in her brain. "So you're saying, you want to get to know _me? _She guffawed, it was unbelievable. There had to be more to it than that. "Well yeah, why do you find it so hard to believe?" He questioned, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, this can't be a shock to you, guys must come up to you all the time." He boldly stated. Katniss laughed out loud, what a joke. "Are you serious? No, that's not the case at all. I've been a nobody all my life, and I'm completely shocked that someone like you is wanting to get to know _me_ of all people." She answered back in disbelief. His face looked shocked when she told him this.  
"You can't be serious, I highly doubt I'm the only one who's taken a liking to you, Katniss." He wasn't the only guy, there had been a few in the past, but she was guarded and didn't like talking to guys with the exception of her best friend Gale. Everyone had thought her and him were dating anyway, so no one really even tried.

"Well I am serious, you shouldn't be shocked, I'm the one who's shocked that you would even try to talk to me, let alone want to meet up with me again!" She shouted, not meaning to be so harsh. But what was said had been said.

"Katniss, I've only known you for an hour, but I can't see why you'd think that of yourself, I mean, forgive me if this sounds weird since I've only known you a short time, but you're well, you're beautiful" He told her boldly. Katniss laughed again, unable to believe a single word that was coming out of his mouth.

"_You _think _I'm _beautiful." She laughed again, still unable to believe one word leaving his mouth. "You're joking. This is all a joke." She was certain. It had to be.

"What?! No, no not at all Katniss." She could tell he was being serious when he said this by the distressed look on his face, but it was still beyond belief for her.

"So, you wanted to see me again because you though I was... beautiful?" She laughed "I mean, I just find it hard to believe, no one has ever told me that before." She answered, she was being honest. She had heard it from family members before, but never anyone else.

"Well it's true Katniss, you are," He told her, meeting her gaze again. It was hard for her to look at him, she had just met him, and he had already told her she was beautiful? This couldn't be real. Someone as handsome as him telling her this was not what she expected to hear. She could only dream of something like this happening.

"I'm sorry for being so guarded, but this is all new to me." She confessed feeling sorry for not accepting such a kind compliment. Peeta met her gaze again

"It's fine, Katniss. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me." He told her, giving her a weak smile. That wasn't the case at all, she had felt a little uncomfortable at the start, but she enjoyed being around him, he made her feel at ease. It was nice to spend time with someone other than Gale. She had friends, but with work she never got a lot of time to see them.

"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "I actually...I-I like spending time with you, I know this is only the first time we've really spent time together but I like it." She admitted. A look of relief spread across Peeta's face.

"Well I'm glad. I like spending time around you too." Katniss felt a blush creep up onto her face, she hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Well anyway, I better get going, I have some furniture to assemble in my apartment unfortunately." He sighed looking back at the apartment complex.

"Oh, well I better let you go then, it was really nice talking to you today." She told him.

"Yeah it was," he replied, kicking a small stone off of the pavement. "Would you mind if I asked for your cell number?" he asked her timidly. Katniss didn't use her phone much, she had a crappy plan and she didn't really text, but maybe Peeta would change that.

"Uh, yeah, sure." She answered back. He handed his phone over to her, it was a new iPhone, something she could never afford, compared to her old blackberry she'd gotten second hand, it seemed like a luxury to have. She quickly typed in her name and number in, and handed the shiny black iPhone back to him. "I'll text you later." He winked. Katniss' heart nearly lept out of her chest.

**Oh my these two...**

**Thanks for reading guys! Remember to leave me reviews, and if you have questions you can ask me on tumblr! (: Let me know what you thought! I really am loving writing this so far, and it would mean the world if you'd follow and tell me how I'm doing! ****Thanks!**

**xoxo **

**Alexis**


	3. Chapter 3

Thoughts of Peeta still flooded her mind, she couldn't get him off her mind. She had never been this affected by a guy before, mostly because guys had never really encountered her or wanted to get to know her. Something about Peeta made her feel at ease, his gentle voice, and kind nature drew her towards him. He reminded her of her sister Prim, friendly and gentle just like he was. She felt sad when Peeta had told her he had to go, she wanted to spend more time with him, 45 minutes was not enough. She hoped he texted her soon. He had left to go grab the rest of his things from his old house, and Katniss had returned back to her apartment.

An hour later, the familiar ring tone sounded from her phone. Katniss shot up from her seat on the couch, hoping it was Peeta. An unfamiliar number popped up on her screen, it had to be Peeta.

**Hey Katniss. It's Peeta I told you I'd text u (:**

Katniss wasn't sure what to say back, she fumbled with the keyboard, entering sentences and deleting them figuring they'd sound stupid. Why was she over thinking a text message? she thought. Quickly, she thought of the appropriate thing to say and sent her message quickly.

**Hey Peeta, hows the moving been going? **

She waited a few minutes before her phone vibrated again, a new message from Peeta popping up.

**Exhausting**

Katniss smiled at the message, picturing him piecing his furniture together alone in his apartment.

**Need help? **She sent him, regretting it already. She didn't want to seem like she was clingy, though she had to be daring and take chances, she wanted to see him again, and badly. She wanted to get to know him this time.

Her phone buzzed again, another message from Peeta popping up on the small screen of her blackberry.

**Sure that'd be great actually. My room number is 416 come on over whenever ur ready (: **

Katniss smiled at his response, slipping her phone into her back pocket, and put on a pair of black flaths and was out the door in a matter of seconds. She walked down the hallway, and four doors down from her was Peeta's room. She knocked on the door, already feeling anxious to get to see him for the second time in a day.

Peeta swiftly opened the door, his familiar smile gracing his face.

"That was fast," He laughed at her and motioned for her to come inside of his fair-sized apartment that looked similar to hers "Sorry, it's kind of a mess right now." He chuckled moving inside and into the living room.

"I don't mind," Katniss said softtly. She was just happy to be spending time around him again, it didn't matter what it looked like right now. Being around Peeta was enough for her.

Strewn across what she guessed would be the living room were Ikea boxes, and partially assembled pieces of furniture. The layout was nearly identical to hers, but down the hallway was a second bedroom instead of a single bedroom like hers. The apartment was pretty much bare, with the exception of the boxes and half-assembled bookshelf that lay on the ground below her.

"So, what made you move in here?" Katniss asked, plopping herself down on the floor and picking up a piece of paper with instructions on how to build the wide bookshelf.

Peeta soon plopped down beside her, taking the screws out of the box in front of them.

"Well, life at home was rough," He sighed, undoing the bag and spilling the screws in front of his feet. "My mom is hard to deal with sometimes, and I decided enough is enough." He finished. Katniss instantly felt bad for him, it didn't look like it was the thing he wanted to talk about.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry to hear that." She uttered out, meeting his gaze. His beautiful blue eyes met with hers, causing her heart to do a somersault. She quickly turned back to the instructions, pretending to look like she knew what she was doing, the pause in the room made everything seem awkward until Peeta began talking again.

"You don't need to apologize you know, it's not like you had anything to do with it." He smiled weakly, looking at her again.

"I know," She replied, reaching up to move her brown hair out of her face "I just feel sorry." She continued. She knew that talking about what it was like at home for him was probably a touchy subject.

"You don't have to," He sighed "I just didn't get along with my mother, and life at home was becoming too much for me to handle, I mean I had to move out at some point though anyway."

"True," she replied, she decided that this conversation was probably awkward for him, so she quickly changed the subject, before things could become more awkward between the two of them.

"So, what do you do?" She asked, looking at his hands that positioned a screw in place.

"I'm an art teacher," He told her proudly "There's an art program at the elementary school I teach at, so I teach kids from K-6."

"Oh wow, so you paint?" She asked raising an eyebrow, she didn't see it coming. Though his kind and patient manner made it believable. The thought of him working with kids all day made her smile, by the way he told her what he did, it seemed like he really enjoyed it.

"Yeah, quite regularly actually, I can show you some of my stuff if you want." He offered. Katniss smiled and nodded her head. He stood up and put his hand out to help her up from her cross-legged position on the ground, and lead her down the narrow hallway to a small bedroom with nothing in it but paintings propped against the wall. Katniss moved towards the paintings that were neatly lined up against the wall, and picked a small one up that caught her eye. It was of a three small blonde-haired boys in a bakery, standing up on a stool with a taller man that looked much like Peeta did, but older. The painting was so realistic, she couldn't believe that he had painted something so beautiful.

Peeta stood by Katniss, tracing some of the figures with his finger. "That's one of my favourites," Peeta told her "My dad, my brothers and I baked a lot at my dad's bakery he owns, it's one of my favourite memories." he told her, it seemed like he was close with his brothers and his father by the way he talked about them.

"Oh, so you're a baker?" Katniss smirked, "I never would have guessed that either."

"Yeah," he chuckled, placing the photo back against the wall "Not what you'd think hey?"

"No, not at all." Katniss snickered, "Painting and baking...I like it." She told him offering a wide smile, both of them laughing together, Katniss blushing slightly.

"Really? That's a shock, most girls prefer the jocks, baking isn't the most manly thing" He chuckled, a light smile spreading across his face. The way he constantly smiled at her made her feel at ease with him.

"I'm not one for sports, I'd rather have a someone who can bake than sit around and watch hockey all day." She told him, she realized he was now blushing. She giggled, looking at his now rosy cheeks.

"Well, I like sports too, but baking and painting was something I really enjoyed and it was something I was good at." He told her, smirking slightly.

"I better get to try some of your baking sometime." She stated, if he grew up learning to bake, he had to be pretty good.

"How about on Thursday I take you out for dinner and then to the bakery?" He asked her sheepishly. He seemed shy when he asked, but then stared at her waiting for her to answer. Was he asking her out on a _date? _It sure sounded like it, and she didn't mind the idea. The thought of them both going out to a nice dinner and getting to know eachother better made her want to, but her only doubt was that she had never been on a date before, she wouldn't know how to act, but Peeta and her seemed to get along great now so if she acted herself like she was, it was sure to go smoothly.

"Oh wow, that'd be great." She replied. Her heart sped up when he beamed at her, she was glad that she had agreed.

"Then it's a date." He said excitedly.

A _date. _Peeta Mellark had just asked her on a date. She couldn't believe it.

"So anyway, I never asked what you did." He stated, following her back out to the living room.

"Well, it's not impressive." She laughed, feeling a blush creep onto her cheecks "I'm a bartender at Abernathy's, just down the street from here." She told him, feeling embarrassed. He was a teacher, and she was working at a shitty dive-bar down the street making barely any money at all. She had wanted to go to college, but gave Prim the opportunity instead since she new how badly Prim had wanted to become a nurse.

"Hey, better than nothing right? I bet you get a lot of customers just because you work there." He winked, making her feel butterflies in the pit of her stomach.

Katniss laughed awkwardly, not sure what to say back to him.

"That's not the case," She told him giving a weak smile. "But thanks for trying."

"Why can't you accept a compliment?" He asked, furrowing his brows, a confused look on his face. Katniss felt bad for never accepting the compliments he gave her, but she had told him that morning that it was hard for her to accept compliments.

"I don't know," She sighed, looking down at Peeta assembling the bookshelf. "I'm just not used to recieving them." She dropped her gaze from Peeta, who was sitting on the floor assembling the bookshelf.

Peeta stood up from his spot on the ground, dropping the screwdriver, and facing Katniss. "I don't get why you wouldn't recieve compliments, I mean, you're beautiful," He stated, offering a smile at her "I've said it before, and it's one-hundred percent true." pronounced, the look in his eyes told her he was being serious when he said this to her, it was similar to the look he gave her in front of the apartments that morning, and she remembered how disappointed he was then when she had given him a look of disbelief and practically laughed in his face when he said it, figuring it was a joke of some sort, but after getting to know him she knew that he wouldn't do tha

Katniss gave him a quick smile, but stared down at the beige carpet underneath her feet. Peeta frowned, and came slowly walked up to her, cupping her face with both hands. Katniss was shocked at the gesture, but felt content with the way he gave her a comforting smile, and rubbed her face, under her eye were a single tear slipped down her cheek.

"Katniss, you are, and don't ever doubt it okay?" He told her, his face close to hers, making her heart race faster and faster. He moved her chocolate brown hair away from her face, and gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you," She whispered, trying to hold back the tears forming in her eyes "I've just never felt beautiful before, and to hear someone say it is a shock to me." She told him. She felt bad for crying in front of him, but the way he comforted her and made her feel at ease made her stop and realize that he was being serious about having an interest in her.

"I don't know why anyone wouldn't tell you that, because you truly are, and you need to believe it when I tell you." He told her, reaching out and grabbing her hand. Her hand fit perfectly with his soft and warm one, being with him made everything feel right around her. Every time he touched her, her heart sped up and started beating faster and faster, everything Peeta was telling her made her feel exhilerated. No one had ever made her feel like he did, and she couldn't believe it was happening. Having a guy like Peeta Mellark tell her these things was something she could only dream of.

"I better get going," She told him "It was really, _really_ nice seeing you again today." She remarked, flashing a smile towards him.

"It was nice seeing you too, and I'll see you Thursday night at six?" He questioned, wating for her to answer back.

"Six is good," She beamed, "I'll see you then, Peeta." She waved goodbye and closed the wooden door behind her, and slowly walked down the hall incapable of believing what had just happened between them.

**Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update when I promised D: Please don't hurt me! **

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, yes it was a quick one, but I had to get it done. The next one should be up sometime this week, and at some point I will have a regular schedule on when to update this story, but right now it's just kind of whenever.**

**Please leave reviews! And you can follow/ask me things on tumblr! I will answer anything! Thanks for reading (: **


	4. Chapter 4

It's Thursday night, the night Katniss is supposed to meet Peeta for dinner. She had just gotten out of the shower, and quickly combed out her hair, getting rid of the tangles and knots. Once finished, she had scurried into her bedroom, picking out what she thought would be appropriate. Fishing through her closet, she pulled out two possible outfits she could wear that night. She pulled on a green short-sleeved blouse, and a black skirt, but something about the outfit wasn't right, it looked too conserved for her liking. She discarded the clothes, tossing them carelessly on the ground and tried on the next outfit. She slipped on a light orange dress that Prim had given to her for her birthday, it was nice, but not too fancy and not too casual either. It was short sleeved, and plain, and reached just above her knees. She never thought she'd be able to pull it off, but once slipping on a pair of nude-colored pumps, and some jewellery it all felt right. She left her hair down, her natural waves reaching past her shoulders. She had put on some mascara and eyeliner, and a bit of foundation and powder to make herself look presentable, she actually felt good about herself this time, and if Peeta had thought she was beautiful without having to dress up, she couldn't wait to see what his reaction was like when he saw her dressed up.

**New Text Message from Peeta: Be there in 5 :)  
**Katniss smiled at the text, feeling butterflies in her stomach as she read it. She couldn't wait to see him again. They had texted since Monday when she last saw him, but actually getting to go out with him on a date was something new and exciting for her.

Katniss sent a quick text back, saying she couldn't wait and was ready. The 5 minutes passed by quickly when she heard a knock on the door. She grabbed her purse, and opened it quickly and there Peeta stood before her, his wavy hair brushing over his face, and his blue eyes scanning her up and down.

"You look _amazing,"_ he breathed, staring into her grey eyes. "You're wearing my favourite colour."

"Really? Then I guess I chose the right outfit," She laughed "And you look even more handsome than last time." She giggled looking at his unruly hair, and long eyelashes. He was wearing a blue dress shirt and black dress pants with a leather jacket on top. He took her hand in his, and laced their fingers together as they walked down the hall, making little conversation. They reached the lobby, and headed out the glass doors and into the underground parking lot reaching his beautiful new car. Katniss could only dream of owning a car like his, it was a black Toyota Corolla with all the bells and whistles, black leather interior, and plenty more.

"This is _yours?" _She asked surprised, most people her age she knew could never afford brand new cars like his.

"Yeah, my dad helped chip in some money for it, I had been saving for a long time, but it was worth it." He smiled, opening the door to the passenger seet and motioning for her to move inside the car. She swiftly sat down on the leather seat, and waited until Peeta shut the door on her side and moved to his, starting the cars engine.

"Where are we headed?" She asked, looking out the clear windsheild trying to figure where they were going, she had never been to many restaurants around their small town, not having anyone to go with or the time to.

"A little italian restaurant here, it's one of my favourites." He smiled, while keeping his focus on the road in front of them. Katniss had never had anyone treat her so well before, Peeta had been nothing but kind to her and the more she was around him, the more she fell for him.

They finally reached the small parking lot in front of the little restaurant. Katniss had moved to open up the door on her side, but Peeta froze her, lifting up his index finger, indicating that he'd get it. _Such a gentleman. _

He moved to her side of the car, gently opening up the door, Katniss smiled nudging him in the side "You're ridiculous you know, I can open my own door." She scoffed with a light laugh at the end of her sentence.

"It's called being a _gentleman_." He told her, taking her small hand in his large one. Katniss laughed , feeling completely at ease with Peeta yet again. He had that effect on her, though this was only their third time meeting, she felt like they'd known eachother longer than 3 days.

Peeta and her walked hand in hand, up to the front desk where one of the hosts greeted them, taking them to a booth at the side of the room up against a large window. It was a quaint little restaurant in the middle of town that had red and white checkered table cloths, and smelt absolutely delicious making her stomach grumble. She could not wait to taste the food, everything around her smelt delicious.

Peeta and her sat across from eachother, making small talk about the restaurant and how good everything smelt. Finally the waitress came to them, asking them what they wanted to drink.

"Do you drink wine?" He asked her after the waitress had kindly told them about their wine special that night.

"Yeah on special occassions," Katniss chuckled, "You choose."

The waitress returned with their orders, handing Katniss her Spaghetti and Meatballs with bolognese sauce and a side of caesar salad, the food smelt heavenly, much better than the ramen noodles she often had and microwavable meals. Peeta's ravioli was set in front of him, his eyes filled with delight.

"This smells delicious." Katniss said, inhaling the scent of the delicious italian food in front of her.

"It's even better when you taste it." Peeta leered. They both clinked their glasses of red wine together, and began their meal, Katniss couldn't believe what she was tasting, the food in front of her was the best she'd ever tasted in her life.

"So, tell me about your family." Katniss started, hoping to engage in a conversation and finally get to know more about him.

"Well, like I told you before, my family own's a bakery," He told her while taking another sip of wine, "It's just in the middle of town, you'll see it when I take you later." He smirked

"I have two older brothers, James and Devon,"He explained "I'm the baby of the family, dad's favourite but mom isn't too fond of me."

"Why's that? I can't see why anoyone would dislike you." She stated, it was honest, why _wouldn't_ anyone like Peeta?

"Well, she's not really fond of me or my brothers, I'm just the one she dislikes the most," He looked down at his food again, picking up another piece of raviolli with his fork and popping it in his mouth before continuing again. "My dad's the complete opposite though, I can't see why he ended up with my mother."

"Did you ever have a good relationship with your mom?" Katniss questioned, she didn't know what else to say, but she was curious about him.

"Pretty much yeah, she had never really been there for me and my brothers," He sighed "She's a perfectionist, which made it hard to do anything without her complaining all the time and getting tortured for screwing things up. She still is that way, only it's gotten worse. She doesn't really care for anyone anymore, not even my dad and I can't see how he puts up with her."

Katniss pieces what he is saying together. She never would have guessed his life was like that, and he wondered what made his mother so horrible. From the way he talked about her, she didn't seem very pleasant, but he seemed like he had a strong relationship with his dad. She could only wish that her parents were still here like his was.

"I'm sorry." She sympathized, she felt horrible that he'd never had a mother to care for him, his dad sounded like a nice enough person, and certainly raised him well from the looks of it, but not having a loving mother growing up had to be tough.

"You're turn." Peeta smiles, Katniss realizes he's suggesting she share about her family.

"Well, I have a sister named Primrose, Prim for short, and my parents..." She trailed off, she wasn't sure she was ready to share about her parents death. Peeta sat staring at her, waiting for her to continue, she wanted to tell him, but she wasn't sure how it had been forever since she told someone about her parents death, and she avoided the subject, but now she was put on the spot.

"You don't have to tell me anything you're not comfortable with sharing you know." He told her sympathetically. Katniss shook her head, she was going to tell him, he had just shared about his family and it wasn't fair that he'd opened up to her, and she couldn't. She rarely talked about her parents death which made it hard for her to tell people when it came to it.

"My parents died in a car crash two years ago." Katniss choked out, looking down at her hands that were folded together on the table. She looked back up at Peeta, who's eyes were filled with sorrow. She offered a weak smile, letting him know she was fine with it.

"I-Oh wow, I'm really sorry to hear that, I had no idea." Peeta uttered out. He looked embarrassed, but she couldn't see why he would be, he had just asked about her family and she told him the truth. There was nothing for him to be sorry about, the question was innocent.

"It's fine." Katniss assured him. She took another sip of large sip of her wine, letting it slide down her throat. It was rare when she got to drink expensive wine like this, and it had felt good to have a night to enjoy herself for once.

"Well we're getting somewhere," Peeta laughed "Don't feel pressured to tell me anything you don't want, that's not what I'm trying to do. Just say what's comfortable." he gave her a warm smile, and reached his hand across the table grabbing hers in his, and stroked his thumb over her knuckles making her feel completely at ease. The simple gesture made her heart soar, something so basic had made her feel stronger.

Peeta pulled his hand away, and chuckled when she pouted, she wanted to do more, she wanted to kiss him and touch him and feel alive. If something as basic as holding hands made a spark flicker inside her, she had wondered what would happen if they had done more. She stored the thought in the back of her head, when she realized she'd been staring out the window for nearly a minute, imagining the way his lips felt against hers. She was startled by the sound of Peeta's voice.

"Katniss?" He asked, his brow furrowed and a confused look on his face "You alright?" Katniss nodded, and appologized, her cheeks turned pink from embarrassment.

"I still want to get to know you," He smirked.

"Ask away." She smiled back

"What do you do for fun?" he asked, his hand reached for hers again, and she quickly moved her hand to fit with his.

"Well, nothing really," She sighed, looking down. She didn't really do anything 'for fun' anymore, all she was worried about was being able to look out for herself and Prim. "I hunt sometimes with my friend Gale, and I sing...a bit." _Why'd I say that last sentence. Katniss you're an idiot, know he's gonna want to hear you sing. _She thought to herself, she never sang in front of others, but enjoyed music enough to sing along to it when she was alone, but she didn't do it often enough to be particularily good.

"Should I be scared that you hunt?" Peeta chuckled

"A bit," She laughed "I could shoot you with my bow pretty quick if I ever needed to." Peeta laughed even harder, his laugh was infectious and she instantly started laughing along with him.

"You hunt with a bow?" He asked, his face looked extremely surprised, she had a wide grin on her face just from his reaction.

"Sure do," She replied with a wide smile "Kind of unusual now a days." Most people had hunted outside of their little town in the woods, her and Gale hadn't used guns to shoot animals like most people. Instead she used a bow, and Gale used his snares to trap animals. Spending a day in the woods was her favourite way to spend a day.

"That's shocking. I never would have guessed you hunted, or sang really." He told her. He was right, she didn't seem like the person to spend a day out in the woods, shooting animals and then skinning them with her bare hands later that day, but her father had taught her when she was little and all good memories of him came back when she hunted. It was something that kept her mind off of all the struggles going on in her life.

"I never guessed you baked either, it's strange what you learn." She chuckled.

"Sure is," He grinned. They both stared at eachother in pure bliss, everything about him was perfect. He was charming and knew just how to cheer her up even when he barely knew her. Something about him was different about other guys, he knew how to respect her, and wasn't like the douchebags she'd met in high school.

"I'll pay for the bill and we'll head out for dessert at the bakery." He simpered. Katniss tried to argue saying she'd pay for half, but he had won the argument saying he'd asked her on the date and it was his job to pay. Katniss usually wouldn't let other people pay for her, but he had insisted on it.

After the bill was payed, Peeta helped Katniss slip on her light jacket and took her hand in his again, leading her out of the restaurant. He lead her back into his shiny black car, closing the door on the passenger side and heading around to the drivers seat.

They both drove down the road in silence, it was nearly eight thirty when they had gotten to the bakery. It wasn't too far from the appartment complex, then again, nothing really was since it was such a small little town with only a few apartment complexes to choose from.

"Here we are," he smiled brightly as he put the car in park in front of the bakery. He seemed proud that his family worked there. The large sign with the name 'Mellark's Bakery' in elegant letters at the front of the little building. She couldn't wait to see what it was like and try some of the baking there that was apparently 'to die for'. "It's been here forever." he chuckles. Peeta opened the door on her side again, and intertwined his fingers with hers. The gesture made her heart flutter. Everything he did made her heart race, he had no idea how much she was falling for him.

Both of them walked into the entrance of the bakery, it had a large counter at the front, numerous pastries and cakes were placed on the shelves inside the glass cases at the counter. A man who looked almost identical to Peeta, but taller and with shorter hair greeted them when they walked in. It had to be his brother.

"Peeta!" The man with blonde hair and blue eyes just liked Peeta's exclaimed when they walked in the door "Wow, I haven't seen you in forever! Who's this?" He asked with a smirk, elbowing Peeta in the side causing him to snicker.

"This is Katniss, Katniss, this is my brother Devon." Katniss reached her hand out to grab his and shook his strong hand. He offered her a warm smile similar to Peeta's and welcomed them to take anything they wanted from the bakery.

They both walked into the bakery to an area at the back where there were bookshelves that lined the back wall with two plush couches that were across from eachother with a small table in the middle. Katniss set her purse and jacket down on the couch, Peeta carefully sat down across from her.

"I didn't expect it to be like this, it's nice." She complimented, noticing the nice decor and cozy feel about it.

"Thanks," he smiled. "I was thinking instead of sitting here eating something from earlier today, we could maybe bake something in the back?" he asked, his voice raising at the end of the question.

"I don't know if I'll be good at baking, but I'm up for it." She laughed, she followed him into the back through the doors leading to a large room with stainless steel stoves and ovens, it was tidy and everything was in good shape. It was the most beautiful kitchen she'd ever seen. Everything was set up so that it was easy to grab. The set up was practical and clean, she wasn't keen on the idea of baking or cooking before but now it was a different story.

Peeta handed her an apron, tying it around her neck so that her dress didn't get dirty.

"Wouldn't want to ruin the beautiful dress you're wearing tonight." he smiled. Katniss blushed and reached up to peck his cheek. It was daring, but after everything they'd done tonight she felt like it needed to be done.

"That was nice." Peeta leered. The look on his face after she'd done it was pure shock, but he seemed to enjoy it enough, and it was nice for her too. Now she just needed to tease to get what she wanted.

"Yeah? Well we'll see if you deserve more later after I try this baking of yours." She purred, Peeta grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the counter where all the ingredients were set out in front of the both of them. Katniss had no idea what half of them were, and couldn't take a guess of what they were baking.

"I thought red-velvet cupcakes were a good idea."

"I've never even tried to bake cupcakes, so you're going to have to show me how." She had never even attempted to bake before. Prim had often made things in her small easy-bake oven growing up, but it all tasted vile in the end.

Peeta starting mixing the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in one bowl and then setting it off to the side. She watched his hands work, he sure looked like he knew what he was doing. There was no recipe in front of him, it was all by memory.

"You mix everything in to make the batter now." He passed her the large bowl and the electric mixer. Katniss stood there at first, not knowing what to do, when finally Peeta showed her the switch on the mixer, which turned it on. Katniss flicked the switch on, and the bowl, it starts off slow. Peeta gives her a nod, indicating to her that she's doing it right. The batter turns a dark pink color from the red food coloring they added in.

"This look okay?" She asked him, she was unsure what it was supposed to look like in the end. The batter was smooth so she figured she had mixed it enough.

"Perfect," He smiled "Look's as good as mine."

"Yeah right Mellark!" She elbowed him in the side, causing a fit of laughter between the two of them.

"For a beginner you're pretty good, though I helped you with most." He smirked.

"Oh stop, can we just get these in the oven?" They did just as she asked, and poured the reddish-pink batter into the cupcake tins and popped them in the oven.

"You're cute when you bake." He admitted, Katniss' eyes flew up to his blue ones. She blushed slightly and returned to making the cream cheese icing.

"Well, so are you." She admitted. He was, the way his brows furrowed when he was focusing, the way his hands worked and how he didn't have to use a recipe at all and just knew it all.

"Really?" He asked, he seemed shocked that she'd say this but it was honest. It was daring of her to say such a thing when it was only their first date and she didn't talk to guys that way, but something about it felt right. She was being flirty and he seemed to like it.

"Puh-lease, you've heard it before." She scoffed while mixing the cream cheese icing.

"Very true." He smirked. Katniss rolled her eyes laughed at his response.

"How many girls have you dated before?" She asked him meekly. There had to be plenty, he was irresistable.

"Two." He told her. She was shocked, he was 21 years old and he'd only dated two?

"How can that be, I mean you're well... you're so charming and sweet and well...handsome."

"I haven't always been this way you know." He sighed

"What do you mean?" She asked, What did he mean 'He wasn't always that way' what was he like before?

"Well when your family works at a bakery what do you think I was like as a kid." He chuckled as he set the bowl of finished cream cheese icing to the side.

"Chubby Peeta would be cute too." She assured, she imagined a pudgy blonde haired blue eyed boy helping make cakes and cookies. The thought made her smile, he certainly did a good job of losing weight.

"Well, it got to the point where I was bullied about it, so I decided to join some sports teams and work on becoming fit, and it's payed off." Katniss' heart sank when he told her he was bullied. Why did weight matter? If he was as sweet and kind as he was now why was weight such an issue? She pushed the subject of bullying off of her mind and stood up on her tip-toes and gave him a peck on the nose, he didn't do anything more, but accepted it. She wanted to wait until the right moment to actually kiss him. As much as she wanted to now, she knew she had to wait for the right moment.

"Well, I don't see why your weight then would matter," She encouraged "I was bullied too as a kid, everyone has been, don't worry so much about it." Peeta gave her a weak smile. Katniss could see that he was uncomfortable with the current conversation. While they waited for the cupcakes to bake in the oven, she moved into his side. His arm wrapped around her shoulders, and his hand rubbed up and down her arm.

"You know, I could get used to this, I mean...us." Peeta admitted shyly. She could too, easily. Peeta was kind, sweet and charming. He was patient, free spirited and definetly handsome. She never could have thought she'd get the opportunity with someone like him. He was almost the complete opposite of her, but that's what she needed in her life. Someone to keep her grounded.

"I could too." She grinned. She looked up at him, still standing with him, his arm wrapped around her. They both gazed longingly into eachothers eyes, and soon enough Peeta leaned down and kissed her right on the lips. Katniss was shocked at first, but soon her lips melted with his. His lips were soft and warm, and fit perfectly with hers. The feeling made her heart race, his lips against hers felt absolutely incredible, and she longed for more. He soon pulled away, and then planted another quick peck on her lips.

"I've wanted to do that since the day I met you." He admitted. Katniss nodded her head in response and leaned in for a third kiss. It was quick, and not as passionate as the first one, but even a quick kiss like that made butterflies form in the pit of her stomach.

They were interrupted by the high pitched beeping of the oven, indicating that their red velvet cupcakes were finished and ready for frosting. Peeta pulled away from Katniss and moved towards the oven across from them and pulled out 6 perfect red-velvet cupcakes.

"We'll just have to let them cool for a while so the icing doesn't melt on them."

"I'm fine with that," Katniss grinned, and kissed him on the lips again. Peeta returned the favour, planting another on her mouth and then on the cheek. The feeling of his lips on her was the most amazing feeling in the world right now.

Once the cupcakes were done cooling, Peeta and Katniss both pulled out the tube of cream cheese icing they'd made.

"Just squeeze the bag like this." Peeta instructed, Katniss followed his instruction and squeezed the icing out of the bag, and made the icing wrap around itself. She did better than she thought she would have. Peeta's looked absolutely perfect, putting her cupcake to shame.

They both walked out of the kitchen and into the seating area where her things were.

"This is the best cupcake I've ever tasted in my life." Katniss let out a moan as she took a second bite of her cupcake. Everything about it was heavenly.

"I can see you're enjoying it," Peeta smiled at her "You've got something on your face." He pointed out while laughing at her. Katniss laughed along with him and wiped the icing off of her face with her napkin. They both enjoyed the silence of the bakery. It was well after nine, meaning the bakery was closed, but Peeta still had access with the key he carried around with him.

"Should we get going?" He asked. They had both finished their cupcakes, and had talked some more after about work, the whole date had turned out perfectly. Katniss nodded in response and slipped on her light jacket and grabbed her purse. Peeta reached for her hand and she gladly accepted, intertwining her fingers with his.

"Thanks for tonight," She told him, she had really enjoyed herself, and it had ended up being one of the best nights of her life. "I really enjoyed it." She finished.

Peeta grinned while he faced the road of the drivers seat "I'm glad, I had a really great time with you as well."

They both drove in silence. It was now getting darker and darker every night as they moved more into the season of fall. The orange leaves around them blew gently, there was a light breeze that night, which was good since it wouldn't be too hot.

They reached the apartment complex and parked underground. Peeta pulled the leftover cupcakes from the back seat and carried them in his hands. They trekked up the four flights of stairs before reaching Katniss' room.

"Thanks again," Katniss smiled at him "It was the perfect night, and you weren't kidding about being a baker." She giggled.

"Well I'm glad you enjoyed it. We should do this again." He offered, Katniss nodded. He leaned in for another quick kiss, and then gave her one on the forehead. Katniss blushed and tugged on his jacket, giving him another quick kiss on the lips.

"Goodnight Peeta." She breathed, Peeta waved goodbye and pulled her in for a long hug before he returned to his room again.

**Thanks for reading! The amount of reviews I'm getting on this is unbelievable! You guys are amazing and I wouldn't be writing if I didn't have you guys. This should be the regular length of the chapters from now on. It took me a couple days to write, I've been busy busy lately!**

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**Again, thanks for reading! Leave reviews as well (: it'll make my day and makes me want to write more for you guys! :***


	5. Chapter 5

After her date with Peeta, and getting to know him and his background, Katniss knew, she _knew _she was in love with him. The way he kissed her was absolutely perfect, the way he had given so much thought into their date was perfect. _He _was perfect. She had no option but to tell Johanna, who was one of her best friends. She knew Johanna would be more than willing to listen.

"What is it this time Brainless?" Johanna answered dryly.

"Well... I have a feeling you're going to want to hear about it." Katniss laughed, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder while feeding the mangy orange cat at her feet.

"Mmhmm, spill Everdeen." She demanded, Katniss was hesitant. She decided that telling her in person would be best instead of over the phone.

"Well how about we meet up and I'll tell you." Katniss offered, hoping Johanna would accept.

"Fine," Johanna huffed "Where are we goin'?"

"Mockingjays?"

"Sure seven o'clock don't be late, brainless." Johanna chucked.

Katniss hung up the phone and quickly and headed for the bathroom where her small white-tiled shower awaited her. The hot water streamed onto her dark brown locks and down her back, enveloping her body in warmth.

Once finished washing and drying her hair, and putting on a small amount of makeup before slipping on a pair of jeans and a black V-neck t-shirt. She grabbed her purse, slipped on a pair of converse and was out the door in a matter of seconds.

In front of Mockingjay's stood Johanna, who looked annoyed as usual. Katniss quickened her pace as she walked toward her.

"Didn't think you'd show up, Brainless." Johanna chuckled, pulling Katniss in for a quick hug before entering Mockingjays. They found a tall round table with two bar stools on each side. The both of them found their seat and got settled and ordered a pitcher of beer to share amoungst themselves.

"So what were you going to tell me about?." Johanna smirked as she poured the cold beer into the tall glass in front of her.

"Well..." Katniss started, unsure of how to tell her. She didn't quite know to classify her and Peeta's relationship, yes they had kissed, but that didn't mean they were dating. She'd only known him a week, and been on one date with him, so she figured the word "boyfriend" wouldn't be the right term to use, although she wished she could call Peeta her boyfriend. The thought made her cheeks redden.

"Oh c'mon Everdeen, spit it out!" Johanna demanded. Katniss took a quick sip of the cheap beer, before continuing.

"I met a guy..." Katniss told her meekly. Johanna's eyes widened in shock.

"You're serious? Oh my god, Katniss Everdeen found a date!" Johanna exclaimed excitedly with a chuckle. Katniss laughed in response, tables near them turned to them but Katniss didn't pay them any mind.

"So what's his name?" Johanna asked with a smirk "Is he hot?" Katniss continued laughing at her friends reaction before answering.

"His name's Peeta," Katniss told her "And yes, he's very handsome." she blushed, bringing the cool glass of beer up to her lips again.

"Oh really now? Got any pictures, or do I need to stalk his facebook?" Johanna teased. Katniss' eyes widened at the thought of Johanna stalking his facebook, although she didn't know if he had a Facebook account or not. She quickly pulled out her phone and searched for the picture that he had sent her that morning.

"That's him." Katniss told her, pointing to the picture of him on her small screen. Johanna tore the phone out of her hands and brought the phone closer to her face.

"You're serious? You scored _him?" _Johanna let out in pure shock. Katniss nodded her head with a wide grin on her face.

"So where did you guys meet?" Johanna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I bumped into him." Katniss told her nervously, cringing at the memory "He was walking up the stairs and I was heading down for a jog and I bumped into him." Johanna bursted out laughing in response, making her feel worse about it, but if it hadn't happened she'd probably never gone on a date with him.

"Of course that's how it happened." Johanna teased, she was right. Of course she met him making a feeble mistake.

"He was moving in, and I knocked the box he was carrying out of his hands as well." Katniss admitted with a chuckle. Johanna just started laughing more.

"He was moving in?" she asked, her eyebrow raised.

"Yep, he's on my floor, actually." Katniss laughed.

"Well lucky you, you can give him a booty call whenever and he'll be at your door within seconds!" Johanna teased and then bursting into a fit of laughter. Katniss eyed widened in shock at her friends crude response.

"Oh c'mon Everdeen, lighten up." Johanna told her with a pat on the shoulder, Johanna grabbed Katniss' glass from her and filled it up to the top with a grin. Katniss stole the glass from her taking a large gulp.

"There 'ya go!" Johanna hollered, Katniss already felt better after finishing her second glass, and poured another.

"So what does he do?" Johanna asked her before re-filling her beer glass again.

"He's an art teacher at the elementary school here, and his family owns the bakery in town, Mellarks."

"So he paints and bakes...hmm, not what I was expecting." Johanna told her.

"Me either." Katniss agreed, she never would have thought she'd find herself with someone as sweet and good-natured as Peeta. People had always told her she'd end up with Gale because they were so alike, but they were both too stubborn to ever be together, and dating her long time best friend would be too strange for her.

The two of them caught up and moved onto the topic of work. They wrapped up the conversation and said their goodbyes before heading home. Katniss half-walked half-stumbled to her apartment, it was only a couple blocks from Mockingjays. She felt light-headed and everything around her was fuzzy from having too much to drink. She made it to the doors of her apartment, and once inside she realized she'd have to hike up the four flights of stairs. She stood there for a moment before heading up the first flight. _Why the hell would someone make a four level apartment with no elevator._ Katniss thought, it made her angry that it was so inconvenient. It was the only apartment she could afford and of course, it had no elevator.

She finally reached the top, her eyes were bleary from exhaustion. She trudged down the long narrow hallway where she reached the door to her room. She was relieved that soon enough she'd be able to crawl up into bed and get some rest.

Katniss woke up to the familiar sound of her phone indicating she had a text message. Katniss groaned and rolled onto her side to grab her phone off her end table.

Katniss' eyes squinted trying to read the screen, her vision still off. Finally, she could see clearly

**10:47 Text from Peeta: Good morning (: **

Katniss smiled and quickly replied asking him what he was up to for the day, hoping that they'd get to see eachother. She pressed send, and changed into a pair of baggy grey sweatpants and a tank top after realizing she'd fallen asleep in what she was wearing the night before.

She slipped on her black-rimmed glasses that she rarely wore and shuffled into the kitchen where she put on a pot of coffee to boost her energy.

A knock on the front door startled her, she wasn't expecting anyone, she gingerly walked towards the door and opened it to see Peeta standing there with a brown box in his hands. He smiled widely at her and opened up for a hug, Katniss didn't object and walked into his strong arms and offered a smile back.

"I figured I'd bring you something to eat this morning." Peeta told her, handing the small brown box to her. Katniss gave him a questioning look, but then opened the box to reveal two delicious looking bluebery muffins.

"Oh my God, those look delicious, " She smiled at him meeting his gaze "Thank you." She told him giving him a peck on the cheek. They both moved to the couch and ate their blueberry muffins while drinking coffee. The day was already starting out perfectly.

After they finished, Katniss turned on the TV and curled up onto the couch where Peeta joined her.

"What do you want to do today?" Katniss asked him and scootched over to where he sat.

"Lie here with you." He told her openly, Katniss was happy with the answer because that's all she wanted to do as well.

"Okay." She replied snuggling into him. They both watched trashy reality TV all morning before Katniss felt herself drifting off to sleep again in Peeta's lap. She had been so tired the night before and hadn't had the best sleep.

She woke up to the sound of her front door opening and then closing. She couldn't recognize where she was at first, but then remembered she'd fallen asleep on the couch with Peeta. The thought made her blush, but at least she hadn't woken up when he was sleeping.

"Sleep well?" Peeta asked as he headed towards where she lay on the couch.

"Mhmm." Katniss groaned while positioning herself so she was facing him.

"I picked up some pizza while I was out."

"That sounds like a good idea right now." Katniss yawned and scootched up so that she was facing the TV in front of them where a baseball game was playing on TV. She was already starting to feel woozy. Her weekends usually consisted of eating and napping anyway, but this time she had someone to be lazy with. At the end of the week, the weekend was nothing special, just a time to catch up on some much needed rest from a week of working.

Katniss found herself getting bored after they'd finished their pizza, the empty box lay open on the table in front of them while they sat on the couch. It was now reaching nine, and she had no idea what was happening on TV, not knowing much about baseball in the first place. Soon enough, she'd curled up on the couch and fallen asleep for the second time that day. She had been awfully tired from the night before and a full week of work but she couldn't stay up much longer no matter how hard she tried.

"Katniss?"

"Katniss?! Katniss wake up!" She heard faintly. Her mind was racing, thoughts of her mother and fathers death flooding her mind, terrible things happening to the two of them. She couldn't be pulled from sleep, she was stuck in the horrible nightmare and couldn't escape it. She thrashed around on the couch, waking up Peeta beside her and causing him to worry for her. Peeta wrapped his arms around her trembling body, and pulled her to his chest stroking her long brown hair that he loved so much. Katniss still thrashed around inside his arms, but after whispering calming words into her ear, she had gone still.

Katniss opened her eyes slowly, panting and gasping for air. The dream had replayed in her head, nightmares happened all the time after her parents died and she was left to face them alone. Instead, this time she was wrapped tightly in Peeta's strong arms. Once she had realized where she instantly felt calm. He whispered words of comfort in her ear, telling her everything was going to be okay, that her dream wasn't real and that she was safe with him.

She wiped the tears from her eyes, and looked up to see bright blue ones gazing down at her. She didn't know what to say to him, she had been so frightened before, so scared to fall asleep because almost everytime she awoke to a horrible nightmare that made sobs wrack her body. She wished she wasn't this way, she wished she could stop grieving over her parents, but she simply couldn't. They had meant too much to her like any parent should and ever since their death she'd had sleepless nights that were filled with sobbing and loneliness. The dream she'd had felt so real, like all of them. Sometimes she couldn't escape them, and was forced with the awful images playing in her head. This time, Peeta was there at her side holding her tight and comforting her. She couldn't find anything to say but "Thank you."

"Are you okay now?" Peeta asked meekly, he still held her in his strong arms. Katniss nodded and buried her face in his white T-shirt.

"Does this happen often?" Katniss nodded, her face still buried in his shirt. It smelt of cinnamon and sugar, it was absolutely heavenly. Her tears stained his shirt, she felt bad at first but then moved on to not caring. He stroked her back as she cried, she had felt awful about crying in front of him, she never cried in front of anyone.

Katniss finally felt ready to talk, his questions weren't answered fully and she was ready to tell him more and open up to him. He needed an explanation obviously, as to why her nightmares happened.

"I had a dream about my parents..." Katniss started, lifting her head from his shirt "I've had nightmares every night since they passed away three years ago." She explained, her eyes still red from crying and her voice filled with anguish.

"I'm sorry, I wish I could have woken you sooner." He told her, a look of sorrow filling his eyes.

"You did everything you could," She uttered, "I'm just glad you're here."

"I am too." He replied before planting a kiss to the top of her head. Katniss' cheeks turned a shade of red, but she hid it and snuggled into his chest again.

"It's getting kinda late, do you want me to go? I mean, I don't have to..." He told her

"No, stay." With out objecting, Peeta and her back on the couch snuggled into one another and slept throughout the rest of the night in the comfort of eachothers arms. It had felt strange at first, having him already sleep the night with her, but he was simply being kind and looking out for her. There was nothing sexual about it. That night, there were no more nightmares.

**Thank you for reading! I'm sorry this took a while to update, but this past week has been kind of hectic for me and I didn't have the time! I apologize. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review below, or on tumblr! You can ask questions on tumblr simply by going to my ask box, I will answer anything! **

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**Thanks again! Don't for get to review (: I'm on AO3 and as well if you wanna check me out there under the same username. **


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:**

**Hey everyone! I just want to apologize for the late update. I feel really bad about leaving you guys without another chapter for so long. **

**Anyway, I finally had some free time on my hands and I got this chapter finished! All is well, thank you for the kind messages and your concern. Everything is going well, school is just starting up again which is always stressful, but once I ease into the new school year I should be updating regularily.**

**Anyway, enjoy! (:**

Katniss woke the next morning, an unfamiliar presence encircled around her small waist. Looking up beside her was Peeta sound asleep. He looked so peaceful, his features were relaxed and his breathing was steady. She wished she could curl up beside him all day. She really could get used to waking up to him every morning, if that were to ever happen. Right now she was happy enough with his arms wrapped around her. She settled into his side even more and let her mind wander. She thought about a future, a future with Peeta. Though they were only in their early stages, and they hadn't even said they were dating yet, she still dreamed about a future with him. No one else but Peeta made her feel as good, not even her young sister Prim, or her best friend Gale. Peeta had a gentleness and sweetness about him that made him so likeable. She only wished she was at patient and well mannered as Peeta was. From what she knew, they were total oposites, but somehow everything was coming into place. She just had to learn how to be patient with him; it frustrated her how she barely got to kiss him without feeling awkward. She didn't know the right thing to say; she didn't know exactly what they were. Hopefully things would soon become more serious between them instead of the flimsy relationship they had going on now.

She soon felt a stirring beside her that interrupted her thoughts; Peeta shifted at her side, his eyelids slowly opening revealing his beautiful blue eyes. She turned on her side to look at him, a faint smile played across his gentle features.

"Good morning," Peeta said groggily. His tired voice made her swoon. She eased him out of bed with soft kisses on his cheeks, nose and then planting one on his lips making his eyes widen in surprise. Their kisses deepened, and a spark ignited in the pit of Katniss' stomach. Everything that was happening right now was absolutely perfect. The way his lips melted against hers, and his tongues slipped through her lips made her want more. Of course it wouldn't happen this way, she wanted it to be special. She erased the thought from her mind, and continued kissing Peeta with the same passion. Nothing went further than that, though she had dreamed about it, it couldn't happen like this.

Katniss soon broke the kiss, panting afterwards, a wild look in her grey eyes. Peeta's expression imitated hers, both two infatuated with eachother to speak.

"Katniss, you're amazing." He panted, planting another kiss on her lips. Even the smallest of kisses made her feel amazing.

"So are you." She agreed. She then pulled herself from the couch, Peeta soon following after her. His sweatpants hung loosely on his hips, and his white shirt was tight on his muscular body. His blonde hair was standing up in every direction. Even after he'd just woken up, he looked absolutely perfect.

"I say we go into town and get some breakfast, on me." Peeta suggested with a smirk. Katniss nodded in agreement.

"I'll just go get ready quickly and we'll go." She told him quickly before turning on her heel and heading towards her small bedroom. She slipped on a pair of black leggings, a brown camisole and a knit green sweater before putting her hair in her signature side braid. She slipped on a pair of leather combat boots and was was at Peeta's door down the hall in a matter of seconds. He soon answered the door while slipping on a pair of black converse. He wore a pair of dark jeans, a grey V-neck revealing the bit of blonde chest hair.

They both walked down the first flight of stairs, their footsteps echoing loudly in the narrow staircase.

"Remind me why there's no elevator in here again?" Peeta chuckled, his loud footsteps thumping against the old stairs.

"Because it's an old building, and it has character." Katniss stated. They soon reached the small lobby and were out the glass doors and into Peeta's car.

They both drove down the road listening to Paradise by Coldplay Katniss singing along without even realizing it.

"You have a beautiful voice you know," Peeta stated, Katniss' eyes widened and her cheeks turned red in embarrassment. She forgot that she'd been beside Peeta the whole time. She did take after her father, and her father did have a beautiful voice. Every time they'd hunt together, the birds would stop to listen when he sang. It was one of the best memories she had of him. "You don't have to be embarrassed, I'm just telling you what's true."

"I guess I take after my father," She told Peeta shyly, "The birds would stop to listen when he sang." She said sadly recalling the memory of her father. She missed him terribly; she was too much like her father, Prim like their mother. Her mother wasn't there for her and Prim as much as Katniss' would have liked her to be, but her fathers undying love for his children made up for her mothers lack of parenting skills. She was always busy with work at the hospital, and left little time to spend with her children. Her father was everything to her mother, and it seemed as though he mattered most. She did love her children, she knew that, but her father had always held an even more special place in her heart. She was glad that they'd died together at least, she had no idea what her mother would do without her father.

"I didn't mean to bring up old memories." Peeta told her soothingly, placing his hand on her shoulder as she stared out the passenger window, staring off into the trees at the side of the road, thinking of her past. Everything was fine before her parents died, she couldn't have asked for a better life. Though they had little money, she lived with a loving family but that had all been shattered in one night.

"It's fine really, they're good memories." She assured him. The feel of his large hand on her small one offered her more comfort than he probably thought it would. Bringing up her deceased parents was tough, but she was strong enough now to not break down.

Soon enough, they arrived at Sae's Pancake House. Greasy Sae she was known as, made the best pancakes in town. Seeing the sign in front of her made her mouth water already, she hadn't been here since she was younger.

They both walked into the bustling restaurant, reserving a table for two.

"Booth or table?" The tall and skinny blonde host asked the two of them. Katniss noticed the blonde waitress eyeing Peeta flirtatiously. She suddenly grew tense, she was jealous of the beautiful waitress. Peeta could probably get a girl like her any day, and was probably swooning over her right now and forgetting Katniss was beside him completely. _He's here with you, not her. _She reminded herself. She intertwined her and Peeta's hands to show the waitress he was hers.

"Booth please." Katniss told her, forcing a smile. She planted a kiss on Peeta's cheek as well as the host looked at the two of them before leading them to a booth at the side of the room.

"Were you getting jealous back there?" Peeta asked mischievously with a chuckle.

"No, why would you think that?" Katniss uttered, her cheeks flaming red. Peeta looked at her and started laughing hysterically. Katniss was confused as to why he was laughing, it made her mad that she didn't have a clue.

"I think you were," He told her "Katniss, I'm not interested in anyone else but _you." _He assured her. She immediately relaxed at his words. She had no idea why she was so worried, Peeta was as loyal as a Golden Retriver and she never would have thought he'd cheat on her or anything. He could do so much better though, he could have someone successful and beautiful but instead he chose her, a boring girl, who didn't feel beautiful or feel successful with anything she'd done.

"Really?" She asked him, still astonished by his answer.

"Really." He confirmed and leaned across the table for a short kiss.

"I mean it," He told her "I really, _really_ like you Katniss so much that I want to call you my girlfriend." Peeta explained. Her eyes widened in shock, did he really just ask her to be his girlfriend?

"I feel the same way," She told him, "I'd really like to call you my boyfriend." She smirked.

"Well then, I guess it's official now." He beamed. "I wanted to tell you for a while now, I knew the first day I met you. I know it's crazy, but something about you drew me to you." Peeta said enthusiastically. "I know it's only been a few weeks, but I don't want to wait any longer. I know I want to be with you."

Katniss' eyes welled up with tears, tears of joy. He had such a way with words, he made everything in this moment perfect.

"This isn't the most formal way to tell you how I feel, but I don't care. I needed to tell you."

"Peeta, I feel the exact same way. I really want to continue with our relationship and I've never felt so sure in my life that I'd want to be with someone. But I'm positive we're meant to be together." She explained, a feeling of relief spread over her. She was glad she had shared her feelings, she wanted to tell him before, but didn't know how.

"I'm so glad I got to tell you, and that are feelings are the same for each other." Peeta sighed a breath of relief. She was glad too, and she didn't regret a word she said.

Soon enough, Katniss and Peeta's Pancakes arrived, hers with strawberries and whipped cream on top, Peeta's plain and simple with butter and syrup on top of the 4 perfectly stacked pancakes.

"So, I'd really like to meet this sister of yours." Peeta told her.

"I have a feeling she'd like to meet you too, I haven't even told her about you yet." She smirked before taking another bite of her pancakes.

"Thanksgiving, we'll meet each others families, now that we're serious I guess." Peeta suggested, Katniss couldn't agree more. Though she dreaded meeting his mother, from what Peeta had explained to her, she seemed like an awful person. She had abused her own children without anyone knowing. The thought made her stomach clench.

"I know what you're thinking," He frowned "My mother isn't it?"

"Well yes, I just don't know what she'll think of me, I mean I'm not a University student like you, I don't have a good job like you, I'm not rich like you." Katniss explained nervously.

"Katniss, what my mother thinks of you doesn't matter. All that matters is what I think of you, and I know I want to be with you." He assured her, brushing his lips against her knuckles.

"Okay, I'll go." She smiled; Peeta beamed in response and pecked her on the cheek afterwards.

After their breakfast was paid for, the two of them slipped back into his car and drove through town for a while.

"Why don't we stop in the woods a while, just out of town." Katniss suggested. It was a beautiful day after all, and it seemed like a shame to waste it. The morning fall air was crisp, and the sun was just beginning to shine.

"That sounds like the perfect idea." Peeta told her, their fingers soon intertwined as they drove down the road that would lead them to Katniss' most favourite place.

They had arrived twenty minutes later; the autumn leaves blew by gently as they walked hand in hand through the woods on a dirt trail.

"This is where I went with my father to hunt," Katniss explained "Those days were my favorite days." She smiled sadly.

Peeta walked towards her to bring her into a warm hug. His body was warm against hers. She immediately felt the comfort she needed. She hadn't been to the woods in so long, it always brought her so much pain, but she knew that if she went with Peeta, he would keep her grounded. He would comfort her if she broke down.

"I haven't been here in what seems like forever," She said softly as she walked slowly through the trees and then settled on the ground "After my dad parents died, I couldn't come here, it reminded me too much of my dad."

"So why are you choosing to be here now?" Peeta asked, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"Because I know I can be strong with you here." She smiled, her lips soon met with his and the spark that she'd felt with him before ignited inside her again. It felt so right. When he kissed her, nothing else mattered but that. He was her rock; she never depended on someone so much after her parents passed.

"Well I'm glad, because I'm stronger with you here too, that's how we worked out." Peeta says, "That, and you're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid eyes on." He smirked, catching her lips with his again, this time with more passion than before.

They continued their stroll through the woods for a good while; she showed him the lake that her father taught her and her sister to swim in when they were young. She showed him where they'd store their bow and arrows. Instead of the pain she expected she'd feel she felt comfort. All the good memories of her and her father were when they would spend a day out in the woods together.

Their feet dangled in the cool water, the sun shone down on them. The entire day spent with Peeta was perfect.

"Katniss?" Peeta asked as he got up from his laying position on the grass.

"Mmhmm?" Katniss hummed, her eyes closed enjoying the sound of the birds singing around her.

"I love you." Peeta confessed. Katniss shot up from her spot on the ground her eyes widened with his confession; she didn't know what to say. Did she love him? Were the feelings between them real?

"Peeta I…" She trailed off feeling nervous "I love you too." And with that their lips met instantly.

**Thanks for reading guys! I love all of you who take the time to read and review this story, and I'm so excited to write more and hear from more of you! Leave me a review if you enjoyed it or if you have any suggestions or questions, I don't bite! I'd be happy to answer.**

**I'm on tumblr at .com, you can ask questions there too if you'd like. I am also on and AO3 if you prefer reading on either of those sites. I am so excited to hear from you, and I promise the next chapter won't be so much of a wait. Thank you for having so much patience I truly appreciate you guys sticking with this story.**


	7. Chapter 7

She couldn't believe the words that had just come out of her mouth. She had just told Peeta she _loved _him. This was so unusual for her, she had never thought those words would come out of her mouth like that, but what she felt was true. She loved Peeta Mellark, and though she swore she'd never love anyone else since her parents died because she felt like anyone and everyone she ever loved drifted away, just like her parents did and like Prim who was now miles away. She was the one person she was absolutely certain she loved, and she was starting to feel that way for Peeta. He held a special place in her heart, he brought out the best in her, something she never thought she would see again. Happiness and hope. Hope for a better life, one not filled with misery like the life she had previously held. When she was with Peeta, everything felt right, she felt happiness, finally.

She was lost in her thoughts, her body still lay in the meadow beside Peeta. Her head was in his lap, and his hands mindlessly fumbled with her brown locks that she chose to leave down just for him because she knew how he preferred it down rather than in it's usual side braid.

"You're sure?" Peeta asked cautiously.

Katniss was confused. "Sure about what?" Katniss hummed, her eyes still closed to block the sunlight in her eyes.

"That you love me." Peeta confirmed. His hands stopped playing with her hair causing Katniss to look up at his piercing blue eyes that she loved.

Their eyes stay locked on each other before he looked over his shoulder and shook his head.

"Peeta," Katniss pleaded, sitting up to face him "I'm sure." She told him with a smile before he could become upset. It wasn't a lie, she was certain that what she felt for him was love.

"I am too Katniss, more sure than I've ever been about anyone." Peeta assured giving her a quick peck on the lips. The feeling of his lips on hers made her heart race, even the quickest of kisses.

"Good," She rested her head on his shoulder, enjoying the peace of the wilderness, the place where her greatest memories were held, and where new ones were to be made. "So, how many more women have you dated before me?" Katniss smirked, poking him in the ribs causing an burst of laughter from him making Katniss chuckle as well.

"Just two," Peeta confessed "A girl named Delly when I was seventeen, and another named Lavinia when I was twenty." He reaffirmed. Katniss felt a sudden feeling of jealousy inside her. She knew that he loved her now, but the thought of him being with other women before made her blood boil. She had no idea why she felt this way, usually she wasn't a jealous person but when it came to Peeta, _her_ Peeta, she did.

"Oh," Katniss sighed

"Katniss, I've never felt something like I feel for you with either one of them," He told her with a peck on the cheek. "I promise you." Her cheeks were tinted a shade of pink with the embarrasment she felt. Again, she had shown him that she was jealous. The second time in one day.

"I'm sure they were beautiful, I mean you could score anyone you wanted." Katniss laughed foolishly. It was true, he could get anyone he wanted with his handsome face, strong muscles and piercing blue eyes. She didn't even know how she managed to score him.

"Yes, they were," Peeta said, Katniss eyes widened. "But no where near as beautiful as you." Katniss hated when he said things like this because she never could see it herself and never knew how to respond either.

"How about we head back?" Katniss offered. She didn't know how to respond to his compliment so changing the subject seemed to be like the best decision anyway, they really did need to get going. Peeta nodded, and pulled Katniss to her feet and entwined their fingers together.

They finally reached Peeta's car after their short trek in the woods. It was reaching two o' clock now which still left them time to do whatever they wished for the day.

The familiar tone of Katniss' blackberry sounded, her eyes widened as she recognized Gale's number flashing across the screen. She hadn't heard from him in forever...

"One second." Katniss told Peeta with a weak smile. She felt awful for talking to Gale and leaving Peeta to stand alone as she held the conversation, but she hadn't heard from her best friend in weeks.

"Hey Catnip!" Gale's familiar voice came through the small speaker of her old phone.

"Hey Gale, what is it?" Katniss asked, she really wanted to hear how Gale was, but right now was not the most convenient. She was having the perfect day with Peeta and she didn't want to have to explain Peeta to Gale just yet, it would have to be kept quiet about until a later time.

"Whoa there Catnip, I just wanted to talk to you is that a problem right now?" He asked with a tone to his voice.

"No, not at all." Katniss recovered her words, sighing afterwards with annoyance. He couldn't have called later?

"I haven't spoken to you in forever, what happened?"

"I've been...busy, Gale." She told him simply, she looked back at Peeta who was strumming his fingers idly on the hood of his car. She felt horrible for ruining their afternoon with the phone call, but Gale wouldn't be impressed if she hadn't picked up. She hadn't talked to her friend in what seemed like forever since she'd been dating Peeta.

"Busy with what Catnip, you're alright aren't you?" His voice sounded concerned.

"I'm fine, really, Gale don't worry about me." She told him, she heard a sigh of relief from him "I really have to go, I'm sorry, I'll call you later on, I promise I'm just busy right now."

"You better." Gale's tone sounded cold, which wasn't a good thing. She knew she'd get an earful from him later on. She hung up the call quickly and returned to Peeta who still stood at the front of his car, his face looked away from hers.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled "That was Gale, he's just a friend and-"

"Katniss, it's fine." Peeta assured her with a chuckle. Katniss quickly pecked his cheek and climbed into the passenger seat, Peeta soon followed after starting up the engine of his car.

"Where are we off to next?"

"Oh, I don't know anywhere really." Katniss sighed looking out the passenger window of the car. The trees flew by as the car drove down the road back into town. She missed the woods already and longed to return to them, hopefully with Gale so she could get some hunting back into her life again.

"We could go to my brother James' house, I'm sure he'd love to meet you and I was supposed to go over today around now anyway." Peeta suggested.

Katniss really didn't like meeting new people, but she'd have to meet James at one point or another, and she'd already met his brother Devon who made quite an impression.

"He's nothing like Devon, trust me." Peeta chuckled, his eyes focused on the road.

"I guess it couldn't hurt." Katniss told him, Peeta smiled in response and continued down the road that lead into town.

They soon pulled up to a quaint house in an older neighbourhood. The house was white with blue shutters on each side of the windows. It was a fairly well maintained home, the flowerbeds in the front surprised her for it being a younger man's home.

"They'll love you, trust me." Peeta assured her with a peck on the lips before stepping out of the car.

"They?" Katniss questioned, her eyebrow raised. She thought it was just her brother she was meeting.

"You'll see." Peeta smirked. Katniss was confused, but they were already at the house and there was no going back now. She grabbed Peeta's hand as they walked up the stone path that lead them to the front door of the house that was painted a dark blue to match the color of the old shutters.

After knocking, a man who looked nearly identical to Peeta opened the door, a giggling baby with blonde hair and blue eyes much liked Peeta in his arms.

"James!" Peeta exclaimed, pulling his brother into a half hug careful not to squeeze the baby between them. He gave the chubby baby a quick kiss on the forehead and smoothed her blonde curls.

"Katniss, this is my brother James, my niece April and you'll meet Heather soon." He smiled as he tickled April's stomach causing her to break into a fit of laughter.

"James, this is my girlfriend Katniss." James' hand outstretched to reach hers to shake her hand.  
"So we've heard." James nodded towards her with a grin. Katniss gave a small smile in return and followed Peeta into their home.

"You never told me that James was married, or that you had a niece." Katniss whispered as she leaned into Peeta's side. She felt slightly offended that he hadn't told her.

"Well, you know now." Peeta smiled back at her. They removed their muddy shoes at the front door and entered their nicely decorated home. Something smelt absolutely delicious and Katniss' stomach grumbled at the delicious smell.

They soon joined April and James in the living room and sat across from them on the couch.

"Heather, Peeta and Katniss have arrived!" James hollered through the house. Soon out of the entrance, a skinny woman with blonde hair came out of the kitchen carrying an assortment of desserts on a tray which she set on the coffee table in front of them, after followed a tray with tea on it. It was just what she was craving.

"Peeta, it's been so long since we've seen you!" Heather cried out, her arms wrapped around Peeta for a quick hug.

"And Katniss, we've heard so much about you!" She smiled and gave her a hug as well which had felt awkward since she'd never met the woman before.

"All good things." Peeta smiled turning to Katniss with a soft chuckle.

"I would hope." Katniss laughed sitting back down on the soft couch beside Peeta.

Heather and James made a beautiful couple, they both had blonde hair and blue eyes as well as their beautiful daughter who looked to be about a year old. April sat on the carpet in the middle of the new couches seeming rather fascinated with a stuffed bunny in her chubby hands.

Peeta smiled down at his niece, and soon scooped her up into his arms and sat back down on the couch. Little April giggled as her uncle tickled her stomach and kissed her softly on the cheek. The sight made Katniss smile, Peeta seemed to do so well with children. He probably wanted lots of his own, which was another reason Katniss was the wrong person for him because she never desired to have children, nor was she fit to ever take care of a child.

Katniss was pulled from her thoughts when Heather had started speaking. "So Katniss, I've heard you'll be joining us for Thanksgiving this year."

"Well, yes I hope." Katniss smiled and looked to Peeta who bounced April happily in his lap, he seemed to be too interested in April to know what everyone else was talking about.

"We'd love to have you, and you know Thanksgiving isn't that far away," She smiled "And I'm sure the rest of the family will love you, Peeta can't stop talking about you!"

Katniss blushed at her comment. "I'd be happy to meet the rest of the Mellarks." Katniss told her with a shy smile.

Heather and Katniss continued to converse, as well as James and Peeta. Katniss really did like Heather and James, they were both down to earth people who were always smiling. April seemed to take after Heather with her constant giggles and bubbly personality. The sight of Peeta and April made her heart clench. He looked so happy with her, and if they were to get married she knew he'd want children. Something she never planned on doing, having children.

Her thoughts were again, interrupted. "Do you want to hold her?" Peeta asked offering April towards her. She didn't know anything about holding babies, but she couldn't refuse. April beamed at her as she was passed into Katniss' arms.

"Like this," Peeta showed her, moving Katniss' arm under April's bottom and her other arm cradling her head. Katniss smiled down at the baby who's feet kicked excitedly in her arms.

"I can already tell she's going to be a stunner when she grow's up." Katniss told Heather and James and then looked down at the bouncing baby who was cradled in her arms. She had chubby cheeks and blue eyes the same color as Peeta's were, her hair was curly and blonde and small freckled dotted across the bridge of her nose and onto her cheeks.

"Just like her mother." James smirked looking at his wife in awe.

Katniss continued cradling the chubby baby who giggled in her arms. Peeta's arm was wrapped around Katniss and his other hand was tickling her tiny feet.

"You're so good at this." Katniss told him.

"Good at what?" He asked looking up to meet Katniss' eyes.

"Being with kids, it just comes so natural for you." Katniss confessed smiling at him playing with April.

"Well, I am an elementary school teacher." He reminded her with a poke in the side causing a giggle to come out of Katniss' mouth. April soon joined her laughter as Peeta poked the both of them playfully.

"Do you think you ever want children?" Heather asked her looking at Katniss, Peeta and April in awe.

"I don't know, I never really thought about it." Katniss lied, she didn't want to disappoint Peeta by saying no. Maybe Peeta would change her mind...but really, it was too early in their relationship to be thinking about marriage or children.

"I know Peeta does," Heather said looking at Peeta who's cheeks were red. "You two really do look happy together you know." She spoke softly gazing across at the two of them with a baby in their arms.

"We are." Peeta assured her, giving Katniss a peck on the cheek. Katniss blushed at the show of affection in front of his family, but the feeling of his lips on her skin made her feel at ease.

The five of them continued talking until it reached late at night. Peeta was feeding April her bottle before she would soon go to sleep. She was dressed in a pink sleeper with a little gray bird on the front. She was irresistable. Katniss had never been familiar with playing with babies but she truly loved seeing April and playing with her. Seeing Peeta with her was more enjoyable though, he looked so young and happy playing with his niece that he loved so much.

Peeta handed a sleeping April to Heather and pecked her on the forehead and brushed his fingers through her golden locks of hair.

"Thank you for having us, it was really nice meeting you." Katniss told James and Heather who stood at the entrance of their home. She blew a kiss to April who was sound asleep in her mothers arms, James stood close beside.

"It was lovely having you two over, you'll have to pop by again soon." Heather said quietly careful not to wake their daughter.

"We will." Katniss smiled as she slipped on her jacket and shoes. Peeta did the same and gave his brother a half hug, and kissed his sister in law on the cheek.

The two of them exited the house hand in hand and slipped into Peeta's car.

"Is it true you never really thought about having children?" Peeta asked her, his gaze meeting hers.

"I mean, well, I have but..." Katniss trailed off unsure of what to say.

"You looked really happy with April today."

"I was, really, your niece is sweet, but I don't know I'd ever be ready or fit to have children." Katniss admitted to him feeling shy about the topic.

"I get it," Peeta said sounding defeated "I just always pictured having children one day."

"And you can." Katniss assured him.

"Not if you don't want them." Peeta mumbled.

"Who says it has to be me?" Katniss stated, she already regretted what she said.

"I want it to be you, Katniss!" Peeta told her his voice sounding angry.

Katniss felt tears welling up in her eyes. Why were they even talking about this? They'd barely been dating and they were already talking about children?

"Peeta," Katniss pleaded resting her hand on his shoulder "We've only started dating, please, let's talk about this another time."

"You're right." Peeta sighed turning towards the front window of the car. He started the car and sat speechless for a good five minutes.

"You really love your niece don't you?" Katniss asked shyly.

"As much as I love you, which is a lot." Peeta admitted making Katniss' cheeks turn a shade of red.

"I could tell from today." Katniss laughed recalling the memory of Peeta playing with a giggling baby in his lap. She wished she had a picture of them.

"I know it's weird to be talking about marriage and children with you right now, but really I do think about being with you for as long as you'll let me." Peeta said, his eyes serious.

"It is weird," Katniss said "But I do like the thought of it." She smiled towards him causing Peeta to release a laugh causing Katniss' smile to widen.

"I do too," Peeta beamed "We'll see."

"We'll see." Katniss confirmed.

**AN:**

**Hey guys! Thank you so much for reading! I'm sorry it took so long for me to update this chapter I couldn't think of what to write and this idea just kind of came to me spur the moment so I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know by leaving a review, it is highly appreciated! I love all you guys, and thank you for checking up on me to see if I was alright since I hadn't been updating for a month, you guys mean the world to me. Again, I'm sorry for the late update and I promise I will try and be more consistent with updating this story!**

**ALSO, I can't believe this has reached over 1,000 reads on , AO3 and Wattpad. That's really big for me! I can't thank you guys enough 3 **

**If you have tumblr, make sure to follow me at .com, you can ask me questions in my ask box as I'd be happy to answer. Thank you again, I love you all and make sure to leave a review or leave suggestions for the next chapter I'd love to hear.**


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